You Make Me Strong
by Bianca.T.Sparrow101
Summary: AU One Shot(s) about Elijah and my OC, Lissa. Lissa never told Elijah she wanted to celebrate Christmas, but he knew. He always knew. Complete for now, may add more.


**Merry (late) Christmas! Love from Bianca :) x**

Christmas was a beautiful time of year. The lights, the trees, the magnificent tables of food – they were all stunning and heart warming. Snow could fall from the sky, people would shop frantically at the last minute and children would grow more excitable by the day. Yes, Christmas was a beautiful time of year.

Elisaveta Petrova – or Lissa Pierce, as most people knew her – had never properly celebrated the holiday. Her human years were a distant, painful memory and the first four hundred years of her vampire life were spent running from a psychotic murderer out for revenge on her sister. Then things changed.

_The church was up in flames, Lissa could smell it. She and her sister Katerina fled through the woods where they were to meet up with George, who would get them out of Mystic Falls to safety. Katerina wasn't properly clothed, mostly in a corset and underskirts with a shawl, and her tight, brunette curls had fallen into limp waves in their haste to get away. _

_Lissa was no better. Her sister had come up with the cunning plan weeks in advance and both had staged a scene where Katerina had laced water with vervain, pretending not to know what it was, and Lissa was taken away. Her black waves were knotted and her pale gold dress was torn in places and rumpled everywhere else. _

_Both ran out into the road and Lissa froze at the sight that greeted her eyes. On the road, a few feet away, were two bodies. One of them was her best friend: Damon Salvatore._

"_No," she whimpered, smelling the blood on him. "NO!" she screamed, bolting towards the dead body of Damon. Katerina's attempts to hold her back were futile and Lissa, not bothered about the dirt, fell to her knees by the young man she'd become so close to since arriving in Mystic Falls._

_Damon Salvatore was her first real friend in many centuries. Whilst Lissa knew of the illicit relationships Katerina conducted with both Damon and his brother Stefan, she didn't attempt to stop it – Katerina always got what she wanted. Lissa and Damon had bonded almost instantly, sharing passions for literature and a mutual understanding of what it was like being inferior to a sibling. _

_She placed a trembling hand on his chest, avoiding the bloodstain, and used the other to stroke the hair that was the same shade as hers. Eyelids covered his usually bright blue eyes and a strangled sob escaped her. It was her fault – and Katerina's – that he was dead. If he had just stayed away, he could have been fine. And now he and his brother would never wake up._

"_Lissa, we need to go! They'll wake up soon," Katerina hissed, coming away from Stefan's body. Lissa couldn't say she'd seen her sister approach the other Salvatore but didn't care, looking at Katerina venomously._

"_You gave them your blood?" she snarled, not completely surprised. "What were you thinking?" she finished, softening at Katerina's sad expression._

"_I love him, Lissy. I love him." Katerina's chocolate eyes, very similar to Lissa's own, drifted back to Stefan and Lissa could no longer be angry. Her sister did not love, did not get attached, but she could see that Katerina truly was in love with Stefan Salvatore – and that was why she'd turned him._

"_We can't come back for them. We can't return here, ever," Lissa pointed out, shakily rising. Dirt stained her skirt but she paid it no mind, focusing on talking sense into her sister. The only way Katerina would see Stefan again would be if they somehow got in contact without the townspeople knowing – which would be complicated._

"_I have that covered. Now, we need to go," Katerina insisted, jogging away from Lissa. With a last, forlorn look at Damon, the younger Petrova followed the elder, who was just sending George away. _

"_What are the chances of Klaus killing him?" Lissa mused, loathing the Lockwood passionately. Werewolves and vampires inherently didn't get along but George was a different level of intolerable. He was just disgusting._

"_Possibly the same as Elijah returning for you." Lissa whipped her head up from staring at the ground to glower at her sister. That was not a subject breached very often._

_When they had been human, Lissa had fallen in love with Klaus' brother, Elijah. Klaus had positively no interest in Lissa, only Katerina and, when the sisters found out about his plot to kill Katerina, they fled. Utterly betrayed, Lissa had never sacrificed her heart to another person like that again._

"_Well, George Lockwood is going to reproduce then," she bit out grumpily. Bringing up Elijah was never a good idea and Lissa had had almost four hundred years to build and build her hatred for the Original vampire. Katerina, it seemed, wasn't paying too much attention. Her fingernails evidently held more interest that Lissa's growing desire to kill her sister for daring mention the only man Lissa ever saw herself loving._

"_That may be so – but Klaus will kill him."_

"_Not if the chances are the same as Elijah returning for me!" Katerina looked up then with a raised eyebrow._

"_Oh, those are very high. Very high indeed." Lissa was about to lunge at her sister when there was movement to her right. Defensive and angry, she whirled to attack whoever it was but her hand was caught before it could latch onto the person's throat. She choked on air._

"_Elijah."_

He had truly come for her, only her. And, after several weeks, her trust in him returned and she was beyond grateful for her second chance with Elijah. Those weeks were also eventful for Stefan and Katerina. Lissa's sister had slipped directions for the two young men to follow once Emily was finished coaching them into the beginnings of vampirism and, in the third week away from Mystic Falls, both had shown up.

Stefan and Katerina had entered a true relationship, with no one else for them to focus on and Katerina made it her goal to coach Stefan through the beauties of being a vampire. The only downside was Damon, who abandoned them out of fury at the newest couple. They didn't see him for decades after that.

Elijah and Lissa rarely separated, through they went a different way from Katerina and Stefan. Stefan, who had never left Mystic Falls, was to be shown the world by Katerina, whilst Lissa and Elijah returned to England for several years. And they were happy.

That brought Lissa to Chicago, 1920's. Elijah had to meet with Klaus, who had evidently dropped his search for Katerina after she told him exactly where the moonstone was and that she had had a child – meaning there would be a doppelganger in the next century or so. Needless to say, George Lockwood had been killed (though not before his wife gave birth to a boy) and Lissa was extremely gleeful.

But it was Christmas. Klaus, who had no holiday spirit whatsoever, obviously didn't care, and Lissa had never spoken of her wish to celebrate, so Elijah had no clue either. Deciding she could no longer stand being cooped up in the house, she pulled on her jacket over her red flapper's dress, along with a furry hat, and went out in the chilled air. There was no snow but she suspected there would be in the next few days.

Her feet walked her around for over half an hour before turning back towards the house that Elijah owned. Completely miserable because she missed Elijah and the streets were deserted, everyone inside celebrating Christmas with loved ones, she made her way inside the majestic building. She hung her jacket on the hook and placed her hat on a little table by the door before her ears picked out soft, lilting music coming from the living area.

Knowing it hadn't been her that left it on, she cautiously approached the enormous room, ready to defend herself if necessary. What she found shocked her more than an attacker. By the roaring fireplace stood Elijah, tumbler of scotch in hand as he smiled warmly at her. In the corner stood a Christmas tree, complete with decorations and lights were wound around the gilded mirror above the fireplace.

"'Lijah," she breathed, completely gobsmacked. He placed his glass down before coming to stand in front of her, hands nursing her waist like she was made of crystal. His hair had been combed to the side, not back like Klaus' tended to be, and his brown eyes gazed into hers. Her hand moved upwards and stroked his chiselled face affectionately.

"I decided it was time that we celebrate Christmas," he answered her silent question and made her smile brightly. Despite the beauty of the decorations, she could not look away from the glorious man in front of her. He was truly magnificent.

"How did you know?" she whispered, their faces only mere centimetres apart. He smiled and raised an eyebrow at her, as though wondering how she could ask that question.

"You need not speak for me to know, Elisaveta. When I finally concluded that you would never tell me, I took matters into my own hands. Do you like it?" he checked. It was amazing how he could know what she was thinking and they shared so much with one another, yet he remained uncertain over his actions. Seeking to reassure him, Lissa went onto the tips of her toes and pressed a loving kiss to his cheek.

"I adore it," she stated truthfully. "It's the best thing you could have ever done for me." Looking genuinely grateful, Elijah kissed her forehead and led her over to the fireplace, where he handed her a velvet box. "But I didn't get you anything!"

"Just open it," he urged, making her roll her eyes. So many times had they had similar conversations, where Elijah would get her a gift and she would never have something to return. Yet, he never told her that 'she was enough' or 'I have you' or something similarly clichéd and she always appreciated it. He just enjoyed getting her little things and making her smile.

Sighing, she opened the blue box, which was long and rectangular, and inhaled sharply at what was inside. It wasn't a stunning necklace or earrings or something similarly extravagant, which was something else she appreciated. It was a paintbrush.

More than that, it was her first ever paintbrush, given to her by Elijah himself. Back when she was human and in England, she had gone seeking for Klaus to teach her to draw and paint better. Her love for landscapes increased and her skill shot through the roof. When Elijah had learned about it, not very long after her first session, he had given her the brush to use for herself.

It was beautiful, with a long, thin handle and still perfectly conditioned, paint free bristles. Along the dark blue handle was her name in glistening silver, slightly faded but legible. He must have kept it after she fled.

"I was wrong. _This_ is the best thing you could have ever done for me," she said, returning her gaze to his, tears filling her eyes. Elijah took the brush and box, placed them back on the fireplace and took her into his embrace.

"I have held onto that since the night I found it in your empty chambers, the night you ran. I know you have forgiven me but I wanted you to have what was rightfully yours. I love you, Elisaveta," he whispered to her, forehead pressed against hers. She let her hands caress his neck.

"I love you too, Elijah. I always have and I always will," she promised, her lips brushing his nose. He angled his head differently and pressed his lips softly against her own. It started off coolly, burning just beneath the surface before Lissa dug her fingers into Elijah's hair and he gripped her waist tight enough to pull her flat against his chest.

"Merry Christmas, Elisaveta," he murmured briefly as they broke apart.

"Merry Christmas, 'Lijah," she breathed back before he swept her up in an even more passionate kiss. It was better than she could have ever imagined.

**I'm thinking about adding a Stefan/Katherine one, and maybe a Damon/Rebekah one but not sure, as this is already late. I could just write them and make them not Christmas themed. Let me know! So, Merry Christmas and a happy new year, one and all! Love, Bianca :) x**


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